Though she sometimes longs for some of the simpler things in life, Mrs. Obama said her family made a conscious effort to savor the experience when her husband was inaugurated for the second time last month.

"We made a conscious decision to take this in because four years ago, it was a whirlwind," Mrs. Obama said. "This was one of those times where we had to just stop and breathe and appreciate all that we'd accomplished and all that was left to do."

"Watching the girls again walk out, seeing the difference in their ages and sizes and their poise and their stature…I tried to take that in," Mrs. Obama said. "I spent a little more time on the inaugural stage, looking around, turning around, seeing who was there, appreciating the crowd."

At the luncheon following her husband's swearing-in last January, cameras caught her rolling her eyes as she sat between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, but Mrs. Obama said that one instant didn't reflect her overall feeling about the conversation and the luncheon.

"I enjoyed the conversation, had a wonderful time at the lunch. That one shot bore no reflection to how I felt on that day," Mrs. Obama said. "It's difficult to interpret, you know, what's going on in a situation by one shot on a camera…it's not an accurate reflection of anyone's emotions on that day."

As President Obama is urging Congress to pass legislation to curb gun violence in the wake of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary school last year, Mrs. Obama said it's important to remember the children who have been lost to gun violence -- such as Hadiya Pendleton, the 15 year old who was shot and killed in Chicago after participating in inaugural festivities last month.

"She was standing out in a park with her friends in a neighborhood blocks away from where my kids...grew up, where our house is. She had just taken a chemistry test. And she was caught in the line of fire because some kids had some automatic weapons they didn't need," she said. "I just don't want to keep disappointing our kids in this country. I want them to know that we put them first. That, you know, our rights and our privileges take a back seat when it comes to the safety of our children in this country."

While the president is pushing for new gun legislation, working to reform the immigration system, and dealing with looming across the board budgets cuts set to take effect next month, Mrs. Obama said he's also learning to cope with his daughters -- Malia, 14, and Sasha, 11 -- growing up as teenagers in the White House.

"There's nothing like the look on his face when Malia dresses up for a party, and she's heading out…she walks past him, and you can see his face sort of just drop a little bit. It's like, 'Who was that?'" she said.

"It remains to be seen how he's gonna handle his daughters growing up, but he's doing fine. So far so good," the first lady said. "He's a little gray…people think the gray is from his job. It's from his children."

The first lady, who turns 50 next year, has said her decision to sport bangs was her "mid-life crisis" and said she's taking some time to get used to the new hairdo.

"My imagination has to be a little more limited, you know? Would I like to skydive? No, can't do that," she said. "Can I drive? I can't drive. So there are a few things I can do, so why not cut my hair, put a little color in it, do a little something?"

Roberts, whose hair fell out during her treatment for MDS, admitted that in December, her stylist picked out a wig for her that resembled the First Lady's haircut. Roberts said she decided not to wear it because "everybody would have thought I was copying you by the time I came back."

"Robin, you are so gorgeous. You are one of the women who can do whatever to your hair and you look great. I wish I could go bald. You look amazing," Mrs. Obama said.

"The wig came out in December," Roberts said.

"See, Robin had it first," the First Lady said. "Robin, I'm following you."

My Plate Recipes like the one cooked by the First Lady, Robin Roberts and Chef Marcus Samuelsson can be found here on Pinterest.